We have been working hard and are happy to announce the release of Ext.NET 3.1.Click here
for a full list of changes and make sure you visit our
download page
now to get the latest version.

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Designer for Ext.NET

Hello,
Has anyone requested or considered an implementation of the Designer for Ext.Net? I've been using Ext.net for months now, and get very frustrated having memorize/know all the tools, parameters, and features. This, to me, is what separates Ext.net from the Telerik, Devexpress, etc. I like Ext.net tools and operations much better, but this is whats missing (besides of course documentation).

I think I might be willing to write it, as I swear it would take me less time to write a Js converter converting the output of the designer to ext.net than to design some of my grids/panels in trial and error.

Brent
At minimum is there a mapping table with all the methods, constructors, parameters, events from ext 3 to ext.net 1.3, and of course in future 4. Seems like most are there but some aren't. If there was, a translator could be written, but thats not the ideal solution.

The VS2010 has very little in the way of drag and drop functionality. So I must type most of the code in myself. As I type, I do get strongly typed parameters, and options, but there isn't anything to tell me what they do or mean. I have to open the Ext.net API in one window, and then the ExtJS API in another, and cross reference and interpret what it all means.

I hope I'm wrong and have just missed something big.

For example:
I've spent a couple hours doing what I would call a simple date range and report option selection panel. Getting the layout correct, getting the options on each textbox, getting Store's setup, all require me to go back and forth to look at all the options. When I look at the tools in Telerik and Devexpress, they provide much of what I'm describing, significantly increasing the development time and learning curve.

Hope what I'm saying makes sense.

I do like the performance of Ext.net, it just takes me forever to develop anything new.
Thanks.
Brent

Start at around 10 minutes, you'll see a combo box drawn, and then at 13 min a Gridpanel.
1. The design mode gives you the key parameters you need to establish the control.
2. It gives you some visual representation of how it will look, before you run it. With ext.net I must run a dozen times with minor changes to get that.
3. When you use intellesense and mouse over the parameters, they actually say generally what they do. So even at small level, if the comments in the API (Extjs) were somehow placed in with the parameter.

Currently what I see in the design mode, is the type of control, most of the ">" icons just give me ID. It seems like some of this has begun, because I see more now in 1.2 than I saw in 1.0. The panel has more options than that but not near enough given the layout and how crucial it is in understanding the setup. Furthermore to be the best it could be it would need reflect nested panels and controls.

Anyways, I saw in the ext designer the potentials of this, but if it was in Visual Studio, thats where it would really shine.
Thanks Again.
Brent